Brandon is teased and bullied at school – It's just not fair
A/N: I do not own any of Fosters Family characters in the story, all rights belong to ABC Family.
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Stef was sitting at her desk, hunched over the mound of paper work in front of her. She rubbed her right eye and rolled her head around her neck, she pushed her shoulders back and squeezed them together to try and release the tension in her body. Stef loved her job but paper work was definitely not one of the things she loved about her job.
"You making progress there Officer Foster" the captain remarked with a snarky smile on her face as she walked passed Stef's desk. The captain new paper work was not one of Stef favourite things to do. If anything Stef would prefer to be out in the field. She felt more affective that way, as though she was making a contribution. Paperwork just made her restless, change has never been affected with paperwork she always thought to herself, however this was a requirement of the job and there was no getting around it, it just had to be done.
"Barrelling through it captain" Stef responded with a hint of sarcasm in her voice
"That's what I like to hear Foster" the captain remarked as she continued walking towards her office.
Stef was busy scribbling notes in various case files, when the phone rang catching her off guard.
"Officer Foster" Stef said as she picked up the phone in relief that she didn't have to worry about paperwork even if it was only for a moment.
"Mrs Foster, this is Mrs Johnson, Vice Principal at Anchor Beach" A woman said on the other side of the line.
"Hello Mrs Johnson, is everything ok?" Stef said as she quickly sat up and raised her eyebrow. She looked at her watch, it was just after 11am, why on earth would the Vice Principal at Anchor Beach be calling her at this time.
"Mrs Foster, Brandon has been involved in a fight at school with one of the other children and we have decided to send both kids home to cool down."
"Brandon – Brandon Foster has been in a fight?" Stef was in complete shock, Brandon had never been in a fight with anyone before, there must be some kind of mistake.
"Yes, I am afraid Brandon was in a fight during the first recess with another boy" the woman on the other line responded calmly. "We have decided to send both boys home to cool down, we need you come and collect him please"
"Aah, I'm at work I – I um need to arrange with my boss to leave work to pick him up" Stef said with a disappointment in her voice.
"That's not a problem will you please let us know what arrangements you are able to make to have him collected."
"I will" Stef responded her face filled with bewilderment.
"Thank you Mrs Foster, goodbye" the woman said before putting down the phone
"Bye" the words barely making it out of Stef's mouth in time before the end of call dialling tone rang. Stef sat back in her chair with a puzzled look on her face. What on earth would have caused Brandon to get into a fight with another child at school, she thought to herself. Brandon had always been well behaved and he knew that fighting was not how he should handle any situation.
"Foster! Snap out of it" Stef heard a loud voice as she quickly blinked her eyes a few times to bring herself back into the present.
"Where the hell were you? You ok?" her colleague asked with a frown on his face
"Yeah, I'm good. Uh...what's up?" Stef tried to act all cool.
"Do you have the Hernandez case file?" her colleague asked looking at the pile of files on Stef's desk
"Ah, Yeah sure" Stef responded as she ruffled through the brown folders strewn out on her desk. She quickly found the folder in question and stretched out her arm to hand it over.
"Thanks, you making progress?" her colleague asked trying to make small talk
"Yeah, aah, will you excuse me for a second I need to go and speak to the captain" Stef's face looked very preoccupied as she got up from her chair. Stef walked over to the Captains office and knocked on the door and waited a second for the captain to look up and gestured for her to enter.
"What can I do for you Foster,... is this about the Rogan case because I have been thinking about that and I think we should let the detectives investigate a little further before we come to any conclusions" the captain spoke waiving the pen she had in her hand in the air.
"Aah no this is not about the Rogan case" Stef responded, distress written on her face
"Is everything OK Foster?"
Stef took a breath before speaking "Aah Brandon has been in a fight at school, and they want to send him home" She was embarrassed that she had just uttered those words, she was not raising a hell raiser she thought "He's a good kid and he's never been in a fight at school before, in fact he has never been in a fight at all. I need to go and find out what might have possessed him to fight with another kid. Normally I would ask Mike to go, but since his suspension he has been drinking even more and I just don't trust him right now to go and sort this out." Stef was rambling, and probably sharing more than she needed to, but she was feeling terrible that she was once again requesting time off work to manage her personal affairs.
Since starting divorce proceedings Stef had gone from a two parent household to being a single mother and the adjustment had been difficult. Shuttling Brandon around, household responsibilities and work, as a single parent is not an easy task. It is easy to take for granted how much easier life can be when there is another person to help carry the load. Stef's relationship with her father was at a difficult point since coming out and with her mother in Florida, she felt as though she had little support and often felt overwhelmed by it all.
"My father is out of town so I'm the only one available at the moment, I know I have been requesting a lot of time off and I am sorry Captain but I have no one else to ask." Stef face went red with embarrassment. "I promise I will take the paperwork home and catch up later in the evening, it will be done by tomorrow morning" Stef continued on, desperate to save face, hoping that this concession would be enough.
The captain leaned back in her large black leather chair and looked at Stef. She took a minute to think before speaking "I appreciate the situation Stef, and I am sorry that things are difficult. Go and take care of Brandon, just make sure that the paperwork is on my desk in the morning" She gave Stef a hard look lifting her eyebrows and a single nod. It was moments like these that Stef was grateful she had a good relationship with the Captain, and perhaps it was beneficial that Mike and Stef worked together, it meant that captain Roberts knew about her situation with Mike and she didn't really have to do too much explaining, even though she hated that half the precincts in 3 different districts knew about her personal life, at no fault of the captains of course.
"Thank you, I will have it on your desk first thing" Relief washing over Stef her face turning back to its natural colour.
"OK now get out of here" captain Roberts nodded in the direction of the door.
Stef gave a nod in gratitude and quickly turned to walk out of her office.
It wasn't long before Stef arrived at Anchor Beach and made her way to the administration's office. Mrs. Johnson was walking out her office just as Stef was about to enter. Mrs Johnson was an older woman in her late 50's, close to retirement; she had a very conservative English teacher look about her. Stef had found her quite up tight when they had met previously, but with many of the teaching staff as well as other parents speaking very highly of her, Stef felt that it was best to keep her opinions to herself in the interest of Brandon's education.
"Mrs Foster, thank you for coming." Mrs Johnson spoke in Stef's direction, as Stef made her way to the door.
"Yes of course, where is Brandon?" concern written on Stef's face.
"Brandon is in my office waiting for you." Mrs Johnson responded as Stef stopped in front of her.
"What happened?" Stef asked sternly
"Jack Donaldson was making fun of Brandon and calling him names and the two boys got into a scuffle on the playground"
"He got into a fight with Jack, Monty Donaldson's son?" Stef was confused and slightly surprised, the two boys new each other well, why would they be fighting with one another. "What did Jack say that resulted in the scuffle?" a frown drawing a crease between Stef's eyebrows
"According to Brandon, Jack called Brandon a dyke" Mrs Johnson responded, raising a single eyebrow at Stef with a slight hint of disapproval.
Stef was completely taken a back; of all the things she had prepared herself for in the car ride to the school this was not one of them. She saw the look of disapproval on the face of Mrs Johnson, Stef's face turned red for the second time that day.
"Mrs Foster, we have a no violence policy at Anchor Beach, and we cannot allow children to think that violence is the answer to solving their problem. We have spoken to both Jack and his parents about the situation and I trust you will have a serious conversation with your son about his conduct and behaviour."
Stef looked at Mrs Johnson, not feeling very appreciative of the lecture she had just received from a woman who clearly did not know her son very well. "This is the first time anything like this has ever happened and Brandon certainly does know that violence is never the answer to anything. But yes of course I will have a chat with him and help him understand that what happened today should never happen again" Stef finished off, realising that this moment was perhaps not the best time to be indignant
"I certainly hope not" was all Mrs Johnson said before extending her hand to open the door to her office where Brandon was sitting.
The five year old little boy looked small in the giant chair he was sitting in. He had his hands in his lap and his head bowed down. His sponge bob square pants backpack on the floor next to him. Stef walked into the room and saw the scrunched up posture of her son, she made her way over to the chair and kneeled down in front of her son. She took her hand and gently placed it on his chin to lift his head. It was clear the little boy had been crying, his eyes were red and tear marks stained his chubby little cheeks. As Stef slowly lifted his face, he battled to look her in the eye.
"I'm sorry mom" he sniffed out in a whisper
"OK baby, let's take you home" Stef responded seeing the guilt written all over her son's face
Stef got up, picking up Brandon's bag with one hand and taking his hand in the other. They walked past Mrs Johnson who looked down at the little boy. "We will see you tomorrow Brandon" She said sternly. Brandon didn't look up and only nodded his head. Mrs Johnson looked up at Stef and gave her a nod, which Stef returned in kind.
The car ride home was quite, Stef looked at her son in the review mirror a few times but he kept his head down and didn't say a word. He carried a little frown on his face, biting his bottom lip, he looked much too serious for a 5 year old little boy, he embodied the aura of a 45 year old man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. When they arrived home, Stef instructed Brandon to go and put his school bag in his room and then she wanted to chat to him in the kitchen. The little boy obeyed his mothers request and by the time he had returned Stef was half way through making them each a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Brandon lifted himself up onto the chair by the kitchen table as Stef put his sandwich in front of him with a glass of milk. She sat down next to Brandon with a plate of her own. Brandon did nothing more than just stare at the plate in front of him.
"You're not hungry?" Stef asked as she titled her head side ways
Brandon just shook his head, not looking up at his mother.
"Do you want to talk to me about what happened at school today?" Stef tried to push as gently as she could.
Again Brandon shook his head and continued to stare at his plate.
"You know you can talk to me about anything Brandon, I promise I will listen and I won't get mad" Stef spoke in a soft and tender voice "What happened between you and Jack today, why did you get into a fight?"
"He said I'm a dyke" the words were spoken so softly Stef barely heard a single word.
"He what, you need to talk up sweets mommy can't hear you." Stef leaned in closer to her son to close the space between them.
"He said I'm a dyke" Brandon repeated, the words crocking in his throat as he looked up at his mother with giant tears streaming down his face.
The look on Brandon's face was filled with anger, sadness and hurt, a lot of emotions all in one for such a little child. Stef swallowed hard, she reached out to pick Brandon up and placed him in her lap as she squeezed him into a tight hug in a desperate effort to bring as much comfort as she could to her son. "I'm sorry my baby"
"I don't want to be a dyke" Brandon said weeping into the comfort of his mothers shoulder
"You are not a dyke sweetheart" Stef tried to sooth Brandon, as she rubbed circles down his back.
"But Jack said you were a dyke, and if you were a dyke then I must also be a dyke" Brandon struggled to get the words out, sobs hiccupping in his throat as he spoke.
Stef pulled Brandon from her embrace, she put her hands firmly on his shoulders and looked him straight in the eye. "Honey, look at me, you are not a dyke, I promise!" Stef managed to get the words out firmly as she tried to choke back the tears that were welling in her eyes and the lump that had formed in her throat. She pulled Brandon back into her chest, her hand resting on the back of his head.
"Baby, when people are scared of something that is different from them, the use mean and horrible words to try and hurt other people" Stef was trying to find the correct words to not only sooth her son but help him understand the situation.
"But why mommy, it's not fair" the little boy wailed
"I know sweetheart, I know." She rocked Brandon gently in her arms.
"I don't want you to be a dyke mommy, please"
"Honey, 'dyke' is a very horrible word and no one should ever call anyone that. Calling someone a dyke is wrong! It is mean and hurtful and we don't want to hurt people right! And your mom is not a dyke sweetheart, ok!" Brandon nodded into Stef's chest.
The sobs had begun to subside and Brandon pulled back from his mothers embrace. "Jack said you left daddy to be a dyke" he looked up at his mother expectantly.
The statement caught Stef off guard. Stef had explained, as well as she could to her five years old, that his mommy and daddy wouldn't be living together anymore, but she felt getting into the intricacies of why was too much for a five year old. Stef knew that at some point she would have to have a conversation with Brandon about her sexuality but she had thought that maybe she had just a little while longer to prepare for that. Stef sat for a moment looking at her son, unsure how to respond.
"I don't want you to leave daddy mommy, please! I want him to come home" the look on Brandon's face was pleading.
Guilt ran through Stef's chest and jumped up and down her heart making her chest close and ache in pain. The muscles in her neck stiffened and her lower back began to hurt.
Stef took a deep breath and decided that honesty was the best policy right now, this moment would shape her sons life and she owed him honesty. Stef lifted Brandon off her lap and put him back in his chair, she looked straight at him, "B sweets, I know you love your dad, and I know that you want him to come home but remember when mommy told you that sometimes mommies and daddies don't live together even though they love you and each other?"
Brandon starred back at her eyes wide open and nodded as he listened intently to the words coming out of his mother mouth. "Don't you love daddy anymore, is that why you don't want him to come home?" For such a young age Brandon was an intelligent little boy, Stef loved this about her son but in this very moment she wished he wasn't as astute as he was, it certainly would make her life much easier.
"No honey, I care about your daddy so much, I – I..." Stef stumbled, taking in another deep breath; she paused for a moment searching her brain. Brandon continued to look at her with a puzzled look on in his face; he wanted answers he could believe in.
"Honey your daddy will always be very special to me, you know why?" Brandon shook his head "...because he gave me you!" Stef finished off, raising her eyebrows, and giving Brandon a smile. Stef could see in the little boys face that this wasn't going to be enough.
"But sweetheart, there is a very special way that a mommy is supposed to love a daddy and your mommy doesn't love your daddy in that special way, but that doesn't mean your mommy doesn't care about your daddy very much, ok" This statement only seemed to puzzle Brandon more, he pushed his eyebrow together and titled his head to the side mimicking a look Stef wore very well.
"Honey, there are many different ways you can care for and love someone"
"There are?" Brandon looked at Stef in surprise.
"Yes there are. For example you love your music teacher Mrs Rogers, right, but you also love grandpa. You love them both but it's different right?"
"Umhum" Brandon nodded "Mrs Rogers teaches me to play really good music, but grandpa...is grandpa" Brandon shrugged his shoulders, the words to explain the different emotions much to advanced even for her intelligent young sons vocabulary, but he seemed to understand the concept.
"Exactly!" Stef responded. "Grandpa is grandpa he's very special to you, and even though you love going to music classes with Mrs Rogers, you love grandpa differently. That's the same with mommy and daddy, mommy just loves daddy differently"
"But why?" Brandon enquired; although the little boy seemed satisfied with the answer provided he still felt the need to ask why, the eternal curiosity of a child.
"Well because mommy is a lesbian" Stef paused and looked for the reaction in her son.
"What's a lesbinan?" Brandon's tongue got caught as he tried to pronounce the word. Never had the word lesbian sounded so cute, it brought the most delightful smile to Stef's face.
"Well sweets; a lesbian is when a girl likes another girl" Brandon took a moment to consider the concept. "Oooh" he returned, the muscles in his face seemed to loosen and the sweet innocence that seemed to have been taken away from him when Stef had picked him up from school had returned. Of all the answers this is the one that seemed to satisfy him. Stef spotted an opportunity to refocus the conversation back to what happened earlier at school.
"So Brandon sweetheart the next time Jack or anyone calls you or me or anybody else a mean word, I need you to tell them that it's not true, you tell them that what they are doing is wrong and hurtful and then I need you to go and tell your teacher ok. No more fighting on the playground, that is not how resolve problems in this family yes?" Stef put on the most serious look she could, putting her hands on his knees as she emphasised the last sentence.
"Yes mom" Brandon responded, looking back down at his lap, instinctively knowing that what he did was wrong.
"Ok, why don't you finish your sandwich and then maybe you can pull out a puzzle or one of your other toys to play with while mom finishes some work she has to do. Can you be a good little boy for mom while she works?"
Brandon nodded and turned his body around to face the forgotten plate of peanut butter and jelly sandwich; he reached out and took a sip of his milk before grabbing his sandwich with both hands and taking a big chuck out of it.
Brandon was hard at work with a puzzle piece; while Stef was sitting at the table working through the paperwork she had promised captain Roberts she would attend to, when there was a knock at the door. Stef made a quick note in the file she had been working on before she got up and made her way to the door. She was surprised at the site that greeted her.
"Hi" Lena said.
"Hi" Stef returned, unknowingly a large smile grew on her face. Lena returned the smile, her face filled with delight.
"Can I come in" Lena requested looking at Stef.
"Of course, please, I'm sorry" Stef spoke as she stood aside to let Lena in.
Lena walked in and immediately saw Brandon sitting at the table, the little boy lifted his head and a huge smile spread across his face when he saw Lena. "Miss Adams" he squirted out. His smile very quickly turned into a frown, fear taking over. Stef closed the door behind her and as she turned, she saw the fear wash over her son.
"You're not in trouble B" she turned to Lena to validate her statement.
Lena looked over at Brandon "No you're not in trouble Brandon" Lena responding quickly, instantly realising the look on Stef's face.
The tension quickly dropped and relief filled his little body. Lena smiled at him, "what are you working on?" she said as she walked over to the table.
"I'm working on a puzzle, look" he responded very proud of his efforts.
"Wow that's amazing, look at that!" Lena crooned
A big smile spread over Brandon's face, pride beaming through his big brown eyes.
"B, honey, can you take your puzzle into your room so you can give mommy and Miss Adams a chance to talk?"
Brandon looked up at his mom. "It's ok sweets, we just need to talk, I promise you're not in any more trouble" Stef quickly added
Brandon; looked over at Lena, who returned his gaze with a smile. He picked up his box filled with puzzle pieces and made his way to his room. No sooner had Brandon disappeared, Stef turned her body and instantly fell into Lena's arms. She tucked her head into the crook of Lena's neck and planted small butterfly kisses just above her collar bone. Lena let out a tiny giggle.
"Hi" she responded as she wrapped her arms tightly around Stef's body.
"Hi" Stef whispered back, before she pulled back from her embrace to give Lena a tender kiss on the lips. When their lips parted they both looked at each other intently, taking the other in, and letting the newness of their newly established emotions wash over them.
It had been less than two weeks since Stef had stood in the parking lot and declared herself eligible and worthy of Lena's affection. Since Lena had allowed herself to surrender to the emotions she felt for Stef. Since they had both began their journey towards committing to one another.
Lena was the first to break the silence. "Mrs Johnson told me that Brandon got into a fight this morning, is he ok?"
"He's fine, now" Stef responded as she pulled back from Lena's arms.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there when it all happened, I was in a meeting. I came as soon as Mrs Johnson told me what happened" Lena spoke as both she and Stef made their way to sit at the table.
"It's not your fault" Stef smiled, Lena's concern for Brandon warming her heart.
"Mrs Johnson said that Brandon got into a fight with Jack Donaldson, but she didn't care to explain why?" Lena asked; sincerity all over her face. "I don't understand, why would Jack and Brandon fight I thought they were friends?"
"I don't think it's Jack, I think it's his father, he and I work together and I suspect Monty has been mouthing off at home since he heard I'm a lesbian and Jack has probably picked up on what his dad has been saying and let it out at school"
"What did he say" Lena asked concern written all over her face
"He called Brandon a dyke"
Lena sighed heavily, "Parents really should be careful about what they say in front of their children, how is Brandon doing?" Lena responded trying hard to maintain her calm demeanour, realising that this was not the time to get all flustered and rather keep the focus on allowing Stef to express herself.
Lena knew that Brandon was a sensitive little boy, with a gentle soul and a kind heart. In the time that she had spent with Stef and Brandon she had come to adore the little boy. It pained Lena to think that he was being made fun of at school
"I should talk to Jack's parents..." Lena started before Stef quickly cut her off.
"No no, please don't, I don't want to complicate this situation anymore, and I don't want you to be in the middle" Stef quickly spat out. It's not that Stef didn't appreciate what Lena was trying to do; she just didn't want to exacerbate the situation even more. No one knew that Stef had left Mike for Lena; it was all still so knew they hadn't really told anyone. Both women were content on living in their little bubble for a while, just figuring things out from themselves first, aware that when the news did break there would be reactions from many quarters.
"Are you sure?" Lena said giving Stef a stern look
"I'm sure, but thank you for wanting to help" Stef said with a sincere look of appreciation on her face. It filled Stef with so much love that Lena wanted to jump in and defend her and Brandon.
Stef dropped her head, tears started to roll down her face.
"Stef, honey..." Lena leaned in to put her forehead against Stef.
"It's not his fault, he's done nothing wrong, he shouldn't have to suffer because of the decisions I have made" Stef croaked out in a gentle whisper.
Lena pulled Stef into a hug. "It's no-one's fault Stef, if there is anyone to blame here it's Monty Donaldson, he's the adult, he shouldn't be making inappropriate remarks in front of his children. He shouldn't be making inappropriate remarks at all." Lena knew how much Stef loved Brandon and how protective she was of her son, it was obvious for anyone to see.
Stef pulled back from Lena, "I know that, but it broke my heart to see him upset like that, I've never seen him so hurt, so angry, he's only a little boy he shouldn't have to be dealing with any of this"
"I know; I know" Lena said sympathetically "But you know what; Brandon loves you, he's a smart little boy and I am sure he knows this is not your fault. You are a fantastic mother Stef; you've done nothing wrong here."
Stef smiled at the remark, Lena had some magic power that knew just the right thing to say at the right moment that would make the world seem ok. "Thank you for coming over" Stef whispered in appreciation.
"Of course" Lena smiled back, the two women continued to hold each other. This level of intimacy, the feeling of connectedness, warmth and comfort when in Lena's arm was so knew and exhilarating it sometimes took Stef's breath away. "Can we just stay like this forever" Stef remarked, educing a laugh from Lena
When they finally managed to unwrap themselves from their embrace, Lena looked over at the pile of files on the kitchen table. "And this?" She said gesturing towards the stack.
Stef let out a sigh, as she looked down at her homework "I promised the captain I would have these finished by the morning. I've been taking a lot of time off work and the Captain isn't very happy with me I don't think"
"She must understand how difficult the situation is at the moment, right?" Lena probed.
"She does, she's been very kind at giving me the time off, I guess I just feel guilty for having to take this much time off lately." The police force was a male dominated environment and as a female officer, Stef often felt the pressure to live to the male expectation of work commitment that was perhaps unrealistic for a newly single mother.
"Stef, you know you can call me any time when things get too much, I want to be here for you...and Brandon" Lena took Stefs hand "We are in this together you and I"
"Why are you so amazing?"
Lena smiled back at Stef "Because I am in love with you" Lena made that statement sounds as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Mom can I come out of my room now" Brandon asked tentatively standing at the entrance of the kitchen.
Both women jumped at the sight of the little boy, immediately letting go of each other as they turned their heads.
"Yes of course honey" Stef responded looking at her son.
"Can Miss Adams come see my puzzle, I'm finished." Brandon asked walking closer to where the two women were seated.
Lena smiled at Brandon, "Brandon honey, I would love to come and see your puzzle" she said as she extended her hand.
Lena turned to smile at Stef as she walked behind Brandon who pulled her towards the direction of his bedroom.
A/N: Thank you to everyone that has taken the time to read this story, an even bigger thank you to everyone that has taken the time to post a review.